Relative needs money fast? Think twice

Oct. 6, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Wilfred Thoms, 82, of Huntington Beach, holds a $1,400 Western Union money transfer receipt and a police report. Thoms was scammed by a young man who called his home pretending to be his grandson on honeymoon in Lima, Peru. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Wilfred Thoms, 82, of Huntington Beach, holds a $1,400 Western Union money transfer receipt and a police report. Thoms was scammed by a young man who called his home pretending to be his grandson on honeymoon in Lima, Peru. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Wilfred Thoms, 82, of Huntington Beach, carves a piece of wood at his home. Thoms was scammed by a young man who called his home pretending to be his grandson on honeymoon in Lima, Peru. The thief likely obtained information from Facebook. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Wilfred Thoms, wired a man pretending to be his grandson $1,400. The man even called back to thank Thoms. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Wilfred Thoms, 82, of Huntington Beach, holds a $1,400 Western Union money transfer receipt and a police report. Thoms was scammed by a young man who called his home pretending to be his grandson on honeymoon in Lima, Peru. ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Wilfred Thoms, 82, of Huntington Beach, holds a $1,400 Western Union money transfer receipt and a police report. Thoms was scammed by a young man who called his home pretending to be his grandson on honeymoon in Lima, Peru.ANA VENEGAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

HUNTINGTON BEACH – On a recent Tuesday, 82-year-old Wilfred Thoms was sitting in his kitchen doing a crossword puzzle when the phone rang.

Calling was a young man who identified himself as his grandson Skyler and said he had been in an accident and broke his nose in Lima, Peru. He needed $1,400.

Thoms, a retired engineer, was surprised to learn Skyler was in South America since he saw him at his wedding two days prior in Arizona. His grandson said he was on his honeymoon and needed the money to pay for medical expenses.

Thoms immediately headed to Western Union to send money to his grandson. An employee there warned him about the grandparent scam, in which swindlers pose as grandchildren in need of emergency money. Thoms, who grew up in New York and was wary of scams, sent the money anyway.

After sending the money, Thoms talked to his real grandson who was in Arizona and realized he had been cheated.

"I just feel really bad about being scammed," Thoms said. "They know that grandparents are older, have money and it becomes very emotional so you don't use logic. That's why a lot of the questions I should have asked, I didn't ask."

Law enforcement has seen an increase in the number of reports by victims of telephone scams where the caller impersonates a family member of the victim and fabricates a phony scenario suggesting the relative is in distress.

"If a scam artist is able to convince a mother, father or otherwise that their child or other family member is in distress, in many cases overseas, that victim will do anything they can to help their relative," said Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokeswoman. "Many elderly have disposable income and, sadly, grew up in a different generation where trust was easier to come by."

The increase in scams where the victim says the solicitor knew personal details about their lives can be attributed to the vast amount of information found on social networking sites about potential victims, Eimiller said.

"In some cases, family or friends may post information about the victim with good intentions, but without their knowledge," she said.

In Thoms' case, the scammer culled a lot of information from Skyler's Facebook page.

Last year, more than 25,000 older Americans reported sending $110 million to scammers posing as family members and claiming an injury or arrest in a foreign country, said Steve Baker of the Federal Trade Commission.

But the problem is bigger than the numbers reflect because a lot of people don't complain, Baker said.

"Anytime you haven't actually met someone in person and they ask you to send money through Western Union or MoneyGram, that is a massive huge red flag and we urge people not to do that," Baker said.

Other scams are also on the rise, including scams that claim to fix your computer and scams soliciting donations for major catastrophes such as earthquakes in Haiti and Japan.

The FBI and other law enforcement agencies work with foreign law enforcement to prosecute scammers operating in their countries who specifically target Americans. Recently, the FBI worked with the Egyptian government to prosecute an identity theft ring operating in Egypt and the United States. But once money leaves the United States, the chances of recovering that money are very slim, even when an arrest is made, Eimiller said.

Thoms said he hopes his experience will help prevent others from becoming victims of the sophisticated scam that tugs at the heart of grandparents.

"I'm not ashamed. It happened and I just mark it off as experience," Thoms said. "If more people become aware of these scams, I think it will help."

If you believe you have been scammed, file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at ftc.gov, or call 1-877-FTC-HELP. You can also file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center, a joint project of the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center, at www.ic3.gov.

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COMMON SCAMS

•ForeignLotteries and Sweepstakes: Victims are told that they have won a lottery or sweepstakes in a foreign drawing. To collect the winnings, the victims must first pay various taxes and fees. In some cases, it may take the bank several days to determine that the check is fraudulent.

•Money Transfer Scams: Victims are asked to help illegally transfer funds out of Nigeria or other countries in return for a share of the money. Victims are asked to provide their bank account information or pay money up front.

•Mystery Shopper Scams: Victim receives a letter in the mail advising they have been selected to work as a "Mystery Shopper." Enclosed in the letter is a check. Victims are instructed to deposit the check and to use the funds to evaluate money transfer services. Banks subsequently determine that checks are counterfeit and victims are responsible for the funds spent.

•Overpayment Scams: Victims who advertise an item for sale are sent a counterfeit check or money order from a "buyer" for more than the cost of the item and the victim is then held responsible by his or her financial institution when the payment is discovered to be counterfeit.

•Charity Scams: Victims are solicited for donations to fraudulent charities.

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